Cook This, Not That!

So many of you may have heard of the Eat This, Not That! books. They're basically little books that give you healthier alternatives to eat when you eat out. They give you a calorie count and everything. These books are great, but really, they're just doing you a service you could do yourself if you did a little extra research and used your brain when ordering.

However, the same guys have written two books entitled Cook This, Not That! My mom got me the Kitchen Survival Guide one (it's the green one) and- oh my gosh. I. Love. It. They take dishes from different restaurants and make similar dishes, but healthier. Not everything in the book qualifies as "low fat" (which, if memory serves means 30% or less of it's calories come from fat). But th book still offers ways to make dishes that wouldn't be real healthy delicious and much better for you. Plus, most of them are super easy and can be made really quickly. My personal favorite is their baked chicken strips. Delicious chicken strips I can make in less than half an out with a chicken breast, Panko bread crumbs, egg, and salt and pepper. The recipe has a honey mustard type sauce to go with it, but usually ditch the sauce entirely and use hot sauce instead, or some light ranch if I feel like splurging.

The book also has some really great sections like the crock pot matrix, the smoothie matrix, the skewer matrix, and the snack matrix. It's a great breakdown for how to vary meals and make more interesting dishes. It really helps you personalize and make food you like. I spent about three months snacking on hummus and carrots after the snack matrix suggested that one to me.

Overall, the book as a lot of really great recipes (it's my go-to cook book these days) that are easy, relatively cheap, and better for you. I asked my mom to get me the second book for Christmas this year. This one apparently had more recipes that are under 350 calories, which will be exciting. Hopefully I'll be getting it too, since I've kind of exhausted this current book. But all in all, it's a great book and I would highly recommend it. I mean, if a college student likes it and has time to cook from it, it must be good, right?

Until next time!